People-Centered Economy (Part Eight)

January 1, 2026

144

Amirhossein Khodaei, Researcher

People-Centered Economy (12)

From a Subsidy-Based Economy to Real Ownership and Participation

For years, Iran’s economy has faced a fundamental contradiction: the people are the primary source of capital, labor, and economic legitimacy, yet their real share in ownership, decision-making, and economic benefits remains minimal. This has resulted in a society where a large portion of citizens are either subsidy recipients or mere spectators of the economy rather than active partners. The natural consequences include chronic dependency among lower-income groups, erosion of social capital, expansion of rent-seeking, and growing public distrust.

The Main Obstacle to a People-Centered Economy: Structural Weakness

Three major barriers stand out:

Concentration of capital and rents in the hands of limited powerful economic networks and distribution mafias
Weakness of genuine intermediary institutions between the people, the market, and the state
Public distrust caused by failed experiences, lack of transparency, and frequent rule changes

Unless these barriers are addressed, any support policy—even if driven by justice-oriented intentions—will merely reproduce dependency rather than enable genuine empowerment.

A Comprehensive Framework for Democratizing the Economy

Cooperative Foundations: The Backbone of a People-Based Economy

A Cooperative Foundation goes beyond the traditional cooperative model. It is a socio-economic ecosystem capable of aggregating small-scale capital, distributing risk, ensuring equitable ownership, and enabling people’s real participation and ownership. Its core functions include:

Designing and managing diversified funds with varying risk levels
Ensuring transparency and accountability
Preventing the reproduction of rent-seeking and corruption
Connecting local economies to national and global value chains

The Participation Ladder Model

People must ascend step by step toward ownership and decision-making:

Economic awareness and education
Micro-financial participation
Managerial and decision-making participation
Sustainable ownership and informed civic oversight

This pathway transforms citizens from passive subsidy recipients into active economic partners and strengthens public trust. All governmental, semi-governmental, and quasi-private institutions can be mandated to establish Cooperative Foundations, while non-governmental entities such as guild chambers and chambers of commerce can be encouraged through tax incentives, financial facilities, and access to fast-return investment opportunities.

The National Ownership Movement: A Collective Mobilization for a People-Based Economy

Democratizing the economy is impossible without a broad social and economic movement. Just as major national mobilizations in Iran’s history successfully harnessed collective energy toward significant achievements, today a comprehensive and unified movement is needed to transition from subsidy dependency to real ownership and active participation. Nationwide economic education, transparent information, the formation of people’s funds, local projects, smart advocacy, and participatory decision-making constitute the core elements of this movement. When all stakeholders—families, professional guilds, local associations, and Iranians abroad—enter the arena with motivation and commitment, the flow of capital and economic power will no longer remain top-down but will reach the hands of the people, transforming the national economy into a popular, sustainable, and justice-oriented force.

Proposed Practical Examples

Establishing Cooperative Foundations in all scientific institutions, universities, and research centers to activate the knowledge-based economy for faculty members, staff, and students. This can be legally mandated for public institutions and incentivized for private ones through tax exemptions and facilities such as land and infrastructure.
Creating Cooperative Foundations within provincial medical associations and public and private medical institutions, focusing on shared ownership, cooperative networks, medical visa facilitation, international marketing support, insurance provision, tax credits, infrastructure and financial incentives, and low-interest banking and foreign-exchange facilities with grace periods.

Such initiatives can play a key role in developing medical tourism, producing and exporting pharmaceuticals, human and veterinary vaccines, medical equipment, establishing infertility and healthcare centers in underserved and border regions, and launching non-governmental universities aimed at attracting domestic and international students.
These measures not only expand employment and innovation capacity but also guarantee active public and institutional participation in the knowledge-based economy.

Types of Projects with Diverse Examples in People-Centered Economy

1. Public Shareholding through Stock Investment Funds

Public shareholding via exchange-approved investment funds provides one of the safest and most transparent ways for people, especially lower-income groups, to enter the productive economy. Implementation strategies include:

Developing low-risk funds with low entry thresholds
General financial literacy education
Directing fund resources to productive, industrial, and job-creating projects

Citizen advocacy should focus on:
Transparency, regular performance reports, participation of small investors in decision-making, and preventing rent-seeking and unaccountable management.

2. Project Funds and Conversion to Permanent Shares in Large & Infrastructure Projects

Project funds link small investments directly to real economic, industrial, and infrastructure projects, transforming people from spectators to partners. Implementation strategies:

Defining specific projects with precise timelines
Stage-by-stage progress reporting
Option to convert fund units into permanent shares after operation

Citizen advocacy should focus on:
Independent audits, cost transparency, public progress reports, and protection of small investors’ rights against delays or deviations.

3. Commodity Funds (Gold, Silver, Energy, Agriculture)

Commodity funds allow people to invest in real assets and preserve capital value. They are especially useful for low-income groups to hedge against inflation. Implementation strategies:

Develop funds backed by transparent physical assets
Low minimum investment
Connect funds to actual production and distribution chains of essential and strategic goods

Citizen advocacy should focus on:
Real backing of assets, pricing transparency, public access to warehouse info, and prevention of market manipulation or monopolization.

4. People’s Currency Funds

These funds let citizens indirectly share in foreign trade, export, and currency benefits without engaging in high-risk activities. Implementation strategies:

Transparent, accessible currency funds
Linked to real exports, especially knowledge-based and technical services

Citizen advocacy should focus on:
Transparency of foreign currency resources and uses, risk management policies, profit distribution, and preventing rent-seeking abuse.

5. Commodity & Real Estate Certificates

These certificates enable fractional ownership of large assets (agriculture, metals, productive real estate) without major capital. Implementation strategies:

Develop traceable, productive assets
Facilitate access for general public, especially lower-income groups

Citizen advocacy should focus on:
Transparent ownership registration, real liquidity, asset standardization, and preventing concentration or monopolization.

6. Land, Building & Professional Rental Funds

These funds provide gradual home ownership and reduce housing costs for households, especially young couples and low-income groups. Implementation strategies:

Pool small-scale investments
Channel funds to housing production, urban regeneration, and professional rental

Citizen advocacy should focus on:
Contract transparency, total cost, priority for target groups, and preventing speculation.

7. Private & Covered Investment Funds

These funds drive large, long-term development projects, channeling small capital to high-value-added activities. Implementation strategies:

Strong regulatory framework
Clearly defined projects
Enable indirect citizen participation via intermediary and umbrella funds

Citizen advocacy should focus on:
Risk disclosure, ownership transparency, managerial accountability, and preventing benefit capture by specific groups.

Crowd-Funding and Aggregating Popular Capital

8. Crowdfunding for Small & Local Projects

Crowdfunding allows direct public participation in financing small, medium, local, and innovative projects. Implementation strategies:

Legal, transparent, monitored platforms
Stage-based reporting
Public education for small investors

Citizen advocacy should focus on:
Project information transparency, adherence to commitments, compensation mechanisms, and protection of small investors’ rights.

9. Popular Capital Explosion

Rapid, large-scale aggregation of small-scale public resources to finance big productive projects, turning low-income groups from passive consumers into active partners. Implementation strategies:

Design funds, crowdfunding platforms, cooperative foundations
Full transparency and direct citizen participation

Citizen advocacy should focus on:
Capital flow transparency, regular reporting, and preventing monopolies or misuse.

10. Small Capital Funds, Large Projects; People at the Forefront of Exporting Iranian Technical & Engineering Services

These funds transform Iranian engineering knowledge and skills exports from limited activity into a people-powered opportunity. Implementation strategies:

Connect project funds and small capital to regional and global engineering/export projects

Citizen advocacy should focus on:
Contract transparency, public disclosure of projects, and citizens’ real share of foreign currency earnings.
Important: if universities are authorized, they shift from brain drain points to drivers of talent retention and return via real, income-generating projects.

Guarantee & Risk Coverage System in People-Centered Economy

11. Guarantee Funds; Pillars of Public Economic Security

Guarantee funds are foundational to enabling people’s entry into the economy because, without risk coverage, low-income groups, cooperatives, small industries, and small investors cannot enter the real economy sustainably. These funds:

Issue guarantees to facilitate financing, project execution, and market entry without heavy collateral
Reduce production, investment, and export risks

Implementation strategies:

Expand fair and universal access to guarantee services
Simplify processes
Systematically link guarantee funds to investment, project, crowdfunding, and local/popular initiatives

Citizen advocacy should focus on:
Transparency in guarantee issuance, equitable allocation, elimination of rent-seeking relations, public performance disclosure, and preventing monopoly by large enterprises.

Banks in the Trap of Real Estate and Guarantees; When Modern Guarantee Tools Stay Locked Out

Iran’s banking system has long been excessively real estate- and guarantor-centric; loan approval often depends more on full property deeds and finding a reliable guarantor than on the borrower’s repayment ability or cash flow. This approach slows financing, raises costs, creates unfairness, and exposes banks to long-term legal risks and illiquid assets. Globally, banks have long used more flexible and lower-risk tools.

Alternative and Complementary Guarantees (low-risk for banks, flexible for clients):
Blocked cash deposits, government and exchange bonds, standardized warehouse receipts, credit insurance, bank and insurance guarantees, pledging traceable machinery and equipment, and importantly, pledging gold and precious metals (standard bars stored in approved vaults). Despite high liquidity and price transparency, these instruments require clear legal frameworks and regulatory approval to become official banking collateral. Legalizing these tools reduces bank risk and unlocks client financing.

11-1. Iran Export Guarantee Fund

Links the people-centered economy to global markets and enables small enterprises and community projects to participate in exports.
Implementation: Focus on supporting small exporters, cooperatives, and community projects, connecting the fund to project and currency funds.
Citizen Advocacy: Facilitate guarantees issuance, loan transparency, public reporting on supported projects, and prevent concentration on select exporters.

11-2. Small Industry Investment Guarantee Fund

Crucial for rescuing small and medium industries from stagnation and fostering sustainable local employment.
Implementation: Direct guarantees to local production units, cooperatives, and value-chain projects, ensuring safer entry of public capital.
Citizen Advocacy: Fair access for small industries, transparency of guarantee criteria, and publication of employment and development impacts.

11-3. Cooperative Investment Guarantee Fund

Supports cooperative economy and community foundations, strengthening collective ownership and real participation.
Implementation: Support production, service, housing, and agricultural cooperatives, linking them to neighborhood and trade-specific funds.
Citizen Advocacy: Facilitate access for real cooperatives, ensure transparency, prevent sham cooperatives, and safeguard members’ rights.

Knowledge-Based Economy, Export, and Internationalization

12. Export Development Fund: Iranian Engineers’ Bridge to Knowledge & Specialized Economy

Connects high-value knowledge economy to regional/global markets, prevents brain drain, and encourages returning talent with sustainable foreign currency inflows.
Implementation: Support small engineering firms, collaborative projects, and export-oriented project funds for indirect citizen profit-sharing.
Citizen Advocacy: Transparency in project selection, loan allocation, foreign currency performance, and specialized employment impact.

13. Research & Technology Development Funds

Backbone of people-centered knowledge economy, turning ideas and research into sustainable business and wealth.
Implementation: Link small public capital to tech projects, enabling real participation in ownership and commercialization benefits. Also, fund projects addressing national challenges (water, energy, environment, specialized unemployment, tech dependency, structural inefficiencies) with clear timelines, measurable outputs, and defined governance.
Citizen Advocacy: Transparency in investment/commercialization, real public ownership, reporting successes/failures, preventing concentration of support to limited groups.

14. Community-Based International Financial Tools

Enable small-scale public investment in international projects without complex risks.
Examples: Currency funds, export funds, international crowdfunding platforms.
Citizen Advocacy: Transparency of resources and uses, profit sharing, prevention of rent-seeking.

15. Iranians Abroad

Provide financial, knowledge, experience, and international networks to integrate with the people-centered economy.
Implementation: Secure, transparent participatory funds (via embassies, trusts, trade development groups) for joint investment in domestic productive projects.
Citizen Advocacy: Guarantee property rights, profit transferability, and legal transparency for sustained trust.

Knowledge, Expertise, and Non-Financial Participation

16. Ideas & Expertise (Crowdsourcing)

Citizens contribute ideas, skills, and experience instead of money, becoming real partners in value creation.
Implementation: National and provincial platforms to register ideas, solve problems, allow specialized participation, and link to real economic projects.
Citizen Advocacy: Official registration of idea ownership, transparency of participants’ share, prevent free or rent-seeking exploitation.

17. Professional & Trade Associations

Provide career advancement and pooled investment in specialized projects.
Implementation: Registered associations with transparent financial mechanisms, member access to decisions, linked to project and guarantee funds.
Citizen Advocacy: Manager accountability, budget transparency, and fair opportunity allocation.

18. Academic and Scientific Institutions

Act as the bridge between innovation, ideas, and capital, facilitating university research commercialization into productive assets.
Implementation: Establish research & tech funds, financial and insurance support for academic projects, facilities for students and faculty to commercialize ideas.
Citizen Advocacy: Transparency of research ownership, fair profit distribution, prevent rent-seeking in support.

Community-Oriented Funds and Foundations

19. Cooperative Foundation

The Cooperative Foundation is the backbone of the people-centered economy; it can pool small capital, distribute risk, and ensure fair ownership.
It transforms people from passive subsidy recipients into active economic partners.
Implementation: Mandate all universities, scientific centers, government, public and quasi-government institutions to establish cooperative foundations, and incentivize private/community institutions through financial/tax benefits.
Citizen Advocacy: Ensure citizen representation in decisions, transparent reporting, and prevent foundations from becoming closed or rent-seeking entities.

20. Professional and Guild Funds

Enhance economic security of members and enable joint investment in profession-related projects; strengthen intra-professional solidarity and reduce occupational risk.
Implementation: Establish specialized funds for each guild with direct member participation.
Citizen Advocacy: Investment transparency, manager accountability, and fair benefit distribution.

21. Neighborhood and Urban Funds

Local economies thrive when citizens share in decision-making and ownership.
Implementation: Create community-driven funds with direct resident participation.
Citizen Advocacy: Focus on local reporting, expenditure transparency, and real participation.

22. Rural and Natural Resource Funds

These funds prevent rural migration and economic collapse by creating collective ownership of land, water, and resources.
Implementation: Transfer management and benefits to rural fund structures with direct local participation.
Citizen Advocacy: Ensure real participation and prevent resource capture by special interest groups.

23. Family and Community Groups

Empowering families and local communities for economic participation, collective ownership, and resource management underpins people-centered economy.
Implementation: Financial education, support local projects, create family/community funds, network small-scale capital.
Citizen Advocacy: Transparency of resources/spending, project performance reporting, direct decision-making participation.

24. Water, Energy, and Environmental Funds

Green economy requires citizen participation.
Implementation: Develop clean energy and environmental projects with transparent economic returns.
Citizen Advocacy: Revenue transparency, real environmental impact, prevent token projects.

25. Cultural and Tourism Funds

Shift tourism from centralized/capital-intensive to local, people-centered economy; generate low-cost widespread employment.
Implementation: Support local tourism projects with small citizen investment and participatory management.
Citizen Advocacy: Fair benefit distribution, prioritize local communities, prevent takeover by large investors.

26. Endowment and Charitable Economic Funds

Charity becomes effective when shifted from consumption to productive investment.
Implementation: Direct charitable resources to productive projects with social/economic return.
Citizen Advocacy: Transparent reporting, real impact assessment, prevent short-term consumption.

27. Jihadi Groups

Operational arms of people-centered economy in deprived areas; deliver small projects, skills training, and employment.
Implementation: Connect jihadi groups with people’s funds, local projects, and insurance/guarantee support.
Citizen Advocacy: Transparency of funds, project evaluation, ensure continuity.

28. Charities and Social Welfare

Transform cash aid into economic ownership; focus on employment, skill training, and micro-investment.
Implementation: Shift mission from cash aid to participation in productive funds/projects.
Citizen Advocacy: Sustainable outcomes, real empowerment, transparency.

29. Mosques and Religious Groups with Economic Activity

Leverage social capital and trust to channel small capital into local funds, employment projects, and microeconomic activities.
Implementation: Establish transparent local funds with community participation and public oversight.
Citizen Advocacy: Regular audits, public reporting, prevent selective use of resources.

30. NGOs

Serve as intermediaries between citizens, government, and market; provide education, empowerment, and micro-financing.
Implementation: Strengthen NGOs’ role in financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and fund management.
Citizen Advocacy: Institutional independence, financial transparency, social accountability.

31. Cultural and Social Associations

Serve as core for citizen participation in local development; channel members’ capital, time, and expertise into productive projects.
Implementation: Support legal registration, connect with local funds/foundations, enable project participation.
Citizen Advocacy: Performance transparency, public reporting, fair resource allocation.

Principles, Governance, and Empowerment

32. Media and Public Advocacy

Without transparent media and informed advocacy, people-centered economy becomes empty rhetoric.
Implementation: Support independent, open-data, local media with free access to economic info.
Citizen Advocacy: Citizens’ right to info, transparent reporting, participation in economic decisions.

33. 4H Model of Empowerment and Participation (Head, Heart, Hand, Health)

Framework to enable real participation:

Head: Knowledge/awareness
Heart: Motivation/commitment
Hand: Practical ability
Health: Physical/mental readiness

Implementation: Public education, skills workshops, practical exercises, supportive networks.
Citizen Advocacy: Transparency, performance reporting, decision participation, periodic capability assessment.

34. Ladder of Participation

Shows transition from passive observer to real partner in decision-making and economic ownership.
Implementation: Stepwise mechanisms for citizens, local groups, micro-investors to enter projects/funds/foundations, provide input, decide, and share ownership.
Citizen Advocacy: Full transparency, regular reports, monitoring management decisions, representative councils, prevent rent-seeking.

35. Facilitating Domestic and Foreign Investment via Funds/Foundations

Structured mechanisms attract investment to productive projects, increasing domestic/foreign capital, and affecting inflation control.
Implementation: Transparent funds/foundations, guarantees, tax incentives, legal support.
Citizen Advocacy: Investment condition transparency, contract clarity, safeguard small shareholder rights.

Role of Taxation, Insurance, and Guarantees

Smart taxation discourages unproductive capital and encourages fund participation.
Domestic/foreign insurance and guarantees are prerequisites for citizen economic activity.
Credit facilities and risk coverage enable secure participation for lower-income groups and youth.

Reducing Rent-Seeking and Smart Participation of Economic Networks

Rent-seeking is not eliminated by slogans but via ownership distribution, transparency, and citizen oversight.
Powerful economic networks and “mafia” actors can, like in Germany, become supporters of progress and justice by sharing ownership and supporting small industries.

Golden Ring of People-Centered Economy: A Bridge Between Citizens and Government

The middle ring is the heartbeat of people-centered economy, where citizens move from being mere consumers to real stakeholders in economic development. This ring includes intermediary institutions such as cooperative foundations, local and professional funds, associations, NGOs, and citizen media, which facilitate real participation and economic ownership through education, awareness, and trust-building.

Implementation: Establish project and neighborhood funds, transparent platforms for micro-capital, and develop advisory and expert networks.
Citizen Advocacy: Local oversight, transparent fund reporting, participation in decision-making, citizen media, and professional activities to foster public momentum and transform citizens into active and informed economic partners.

Public Movement and Advocacy

Universities, media, and local institutions must demand transparency and accountability.
Advocacy Methods: Local monitoring, transparent fund reporting, voting and decision participation, and citizen media engagement.

Successful Domestic and International Models

Domestic: Agricultural cooperatives in Fars and Khorasan, rural funds in Yazd and Qom.
International: Germany & Canada (industrial/investment cooperatives), South Korea (technology commercialization), Scandinavia (insurance & welfare funds), Bangladesh (microcredit).
Insight: Successful countries combine intermediary institutions, diverse funds, public movement, and citizen participation.

Smart Capital Flow: People-Centered Financing Methods

Financing the people-centered economy is central to the transition from subsidies to real ownership, requiring diverse and smart methods:
- Pooling household micro-capital
- Professional and local funds
- Charitable and endowment contributions
- Diaspora participation
- Project and cooperative funds
- Public-private co-investments
- Crowdfunding
- Incentive smart taxation
Coupled with insurance and guarantees, these mechanisms provide safe access for citizens to economic activities, reduce risk, and convert scattered capital into productive, sustainable flows—making every citizen a real stakeholder in national wealth and development.

Comprehensive Proposed Program

Short-term: Regulatory reform, public education, low-risk funds, launch project funds.
Medium-term: Link funds to production, knowledge-based economy, industrial renewal, expand insurance/guarantees, involve citizens and SMEs in reducing currency outflow and completing value chains.
Long-term: Achieve technology leadership, transfer tech locally, popular exports, institutionalize cooperative foundations, ensure sustainable ownership, and public participation in decisions and ownership.

Role of Governance Institutions

People-centered economy cannot succeed without coordinated governance, effective legislation, and strict oversight. Every institution must follow strategic roles to enable the shift from subsidies to real ownership and participation.
- Parliament: Draft and pass laws for funds, cooperatives, and cooperative foundations; guarantee citizens’ ownership, provide micro-investment incentives, support local innovation, and enforce fund transparency and accountability.
- Judiciary & Oversight Bodies: Ensure transparency, combat corruption, monitor compliance, and build public trust.
- Expediency Discernment Council: Resolve legal conflicts, set long-term policies, define national priorities, and coordinate executive bodies, banks, and investors.
- Executive Headquarters of Imam and Similar Foundations: Implement and facilitate economic, cultural, and welfare projects; channel small capital to productive projects.
- Other Ministries, Banks, Insurance, and Professional Organizations: Provide legal, insurance, and financial infrastructure for funds/cooperatives; create transparent platforms, guarantee access to financing, and coordinate with cooperative foundations.
Practical Outcome: When all institutions fulfill their roles, a true people-centered economy emerges; vulnerable populations exit subsidy dependency, citizens and SMEs gain real ownership, and economic empowerment enhances national security and resilience.

Strategic Summary: Pathway to Participation and Ownership

People-centered economy: the path to real ownership and sustainable participation

The economy is truly people-centered when citizens are owners, decision-makers, and real development partners. Foundations, funds, and cooperatives are the backbone of this transformation; by pooling micro-capital, distributing risk, ensuring transparency, and facilitating public participation, a fair and sustainable economy emerges. When citizens, local groups, professional bodies, and even the diaspora are genuine stakeholders in specific economic, industrial, housing, cultural, and knowledge-based projects, subsidy dependence decreases, public trust grows, and collective economic power strengthens.

Required Steps:
- Government: Smart regulation, insurance, and guarantees.
- Universities: Education and innovation.
- Cooperative Foundations: Implement diverse funds.
- Citizens: Participation and informed advocacy.
Project, housing, production, innovation, environmental, media, and technology funds form rings of a chain that converts micro-capital into productive wealth, skills, and jobs. People-centered economy is not merely a financial policy but a social, cultural, and institutional movement, injecting trust, transparency, ownership, and participation into society. Successful nations combine diverse funds, strong intermediary institutions, public momentum, and genuine citizen ownership. Smartly adapting these domestic and international experiences, especially leveraging the diaspora, paves the way for Iran toward a sustainable, knowledge-based, and people-centered economy.

In short: People-centered economy means creating a society where everyone is a beneficiary and responsible.